The world has ended.
Gabriel, Michael, and their mother live. They feed on scraps and the food left over from before the end.
"Mother, this can't go on much longer; we have to do it, " said Gabriel.
"It's too dangerous, we don't even know if it's dormant or not, everyone is too scared to go near it" Mary was talking about the monolith, they planned to enter it and find out the secrets behind the end.
Nobody wanted to even go near the monolith, never mind go inside of it. They thought it was a death trap.
"Yes it's dangerous, but it's our only way to find out anything about this mess." Gabriel was cunning, he was strong, he was scared. He wanted to find out why this happened to them, why the Earth was chosen by this creature.
"Why not? We're all going to die anyway." Said Michael, he truly believed this, and it was true, sooner or later, they would all die, whether it be starvation or being killed by the raiders it didn't matter, they would die all the same.
"Well if we're going to do this, we should get some other people to join us, there's no way we can do this alone." Responded Gabriel.
"No!" Retorted Mary "I'm not getting anyone else wrapped up in this, I don't want anybody else to die." Her being deeply religious contributed to this viewpoint, she had a love for other people that was unseen, and unneeded during this perilous time.
"They'll all die anyways, mother"
"Shut up Michael!" Retorted Mary. "I've already said that we're not bringing any more people on to this, you understand me!"
"Fine," Michael said in a sarcastic tone.
Michael walked away, seemingly upset with his mother. He locked himself inside his room and didn't come out for the rest of the day.
Gabriel tried to follow him and calm him down, but he wouldn't open the door.
The next day, Gabriel woke up early to check on Michael.
"Michael! Michael open the door!" Shouted Gabriel.
'Shit. There's no way he's in there' Gabriel knew Michael had run away. 'That idiot, I can't believe him. I can't tell mother.'
Gabriel went outside, the stale air and grey-red sky imprinting sadness into his eyes. The world had ended, he had to accept it, he wanted it to be normal but he knew that was far-fetched.
The dream of a distant, normal sky was such an abnormal idea in this rugged, bleak world. All Gabriel wanted to do was live a normal life, now he was constantly living in fear, fear of the monolith, fear of raiders, fear of starving. Everywhere he turned, every road he took, would all lead to death.
Gabriel felt somber. His normal life had come to ruins, because of some stupid government, that wanted to provoke some stupid tower. He was angry.
Gabriel knew holding onto this anger would only make the remaining time in his life even more of a hardship than it already was.
Gabriel looked for Michael, he looked everywhere. Around the town, in the school, he even took a risk and went closer to the monolith, he wanted to find his brother, he loved him, and even if he wasn't loved back, he couldn't abandon his brother.
Gabriel never found Michael.
But the alarms sounded.
That could only mean one thing, raiders had come.
Gabriel rushed back to town, getting home as fast as he could.
'Shit, shit, shit. I got to get home, I have to make sure Mother is ok'
Gabriel got home, and what he found made him sick. The harrowing sight in front of his eyes could only be described as a brutal, sickening execution.
His very own mother, the loving mother who had taken care of him his whole life. Dead. Just like that. One bullet through the back of the head was all it took.
Gabriel fell to his knees.
He cried until he could cry no more. He screamed until his voice gave out. He-
Click
A gun cocked behind him.
"Look at this stupid kid Bubba. That was probably his mom hehe." A stupid-looking, scrawny fellow giggled.
Gabriel stared at the ground with a distraught look on his face.
'Looks like it's time for me as well'
"Turn around kid, I want you to look at me before you die." Said the menacing man.
Gabriel turned.
The men looked ragged. They were unkempt, wearing raggedy clothes and brandishing a rusty old pistol.
"Well kid, any last words."
"Fuck you." Replied Gabriel in a snarky manner.
A gunshot rang out, piercing the air and ears of anyone nearby.
The menacing man fell, making a large thud on the ground.
"Bubba?" The scrawny man looked at his brother lying on the ground, a hole piercing through the back of his head, his unkempt hair soaked with blood.
Another gunshot sounded out.
The scrawny man screamed in agony as the bullet shattered his knee.
"Hi Gabriel," Michael slowly walked forward, a deadpan expression on his face.
"M-Michael?" Gabriel whimpered out
"Yes?"
"Wh- Why did you let Mother die!?" Gabriel suddenly screamed
"I didn't let her die, Gabriel. It was just her time, it was the natural flow of events." Michael replied calmly.
"Our mother died and you feel nothing? Nothing!?" Gabriel was crying.
"I always knew there was something wrong with you!"
"Oh there's nothing wrong with me, there's something wrong with you. You're too busy living in your fantasy world where everything is okay. You haven't adapted to this world yet."
Gabriel hated his brother, he always did, he just never realized it. Michael would always come off with a snarky comment that would piss Gabriel off. He would always kill small animals and dissect them to learn. Gabriel should have seen the signs.
The unfeeling nature of his brother always annoyed him. He wouldn't care if he did badly in school, he didn't care when the family dog died. He didn't care about anything but himself.
"Fuck you, Michael, you act like you're some god. You've never cared about anything in your entire life. You're always unfeeling. Do you even have emotions?"
"I'm no God, I'm just the perfect human. And tell me Gabriel, what is the point of feeling anything? Feelings will only hold me back."
"All that matters is yourself, Gabriel. Do whatever it takes to achieve results, whether it means killing someone you love, or ruining someone's life, it doesn't matter. You are always more important than the other person."
Gabriel didn't like this one bit. He always thought that helping others was what made you a human. He always thought that empathy was core to humans. His brother has shown him wrong today.
"You're wrong Michael. Have some empathy for once in your life. If all you care about is yourself, you will go around hurting others for the slightest possible gain, then you're not even human, you're... A monster."
"If that is what you want to call me then go ahead, brother. But for now, we must team up, these two weren't the only raiders."
Michael tossed Gabriel a gun. "Take this gun." Gabriel looked at Michael with disgust, "Listen, I understand if you don't trust me, but you're going to have to because I don't want to die, and you're the only one who can help me right now."
Gabriel looked at the gun. His eyes became distant, he was thinking of the past. He was thinking of his mother, who was lying dead now in front of him, a bullet shot through her skull.
He picked up the gun, he looked at Michael, he nodded.
Gabriel stood up, brandishing the steel revolver.
"I don't want to kill anyone" Said Gabriel.
"You'll get over it eventually."
They headed outside, the red soil beneath their feet staining their already dirty shoes. The alarm sounded from all around them. Hurried footsteps and shouting attacked their ears. The sound of gunshots in the distance scared Gabriel, but Michael seemed indifferent.
A crack from in front of them. A bang from behind them.
"Good luck, Brother." Michael smiled, it looked pasted on, like a ventriloquist dummy coming to life.